Replace Kawhi with TMAC

[StrongLurk]

How many rings does TMAC have if hypothetically he was drafted by the Spurs in 2011 and also played on the Raptors last year?

[Axe]

None.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

1 maybe 2. No version of Mcgrady is doing what Kawhi did in 2019 imo.

[LukeWalton]

yeah imagine if their roles were switched

T-Mac is out there on the Spurs and Raptors this past decade

and Kawhi is on The Jump giving interviews and basketball analysis.

haw haw haw

[red1]

thats tough because he was even younger than kawhi when he was drafted. 2014 he could win, the rest of the years it would be the warriors or cavs because the spurs would be rebuilding. he'd need a second star. he'd have a slim chance 2019.

[Axe]

Playing in the playoffs was actually t-mac's worst nightmare. I mean his own history of his career shows that.

[Naero]

All in all, definitely at least 2 rings.

I don't see how he wouldn't win in 2014 unless he sabotaged the Spurs' culture completely. McGrady wasn't considerably worse—if at all—than Kawhi at the same juncture of their careers, and the Spurs didn't need any prime-time superstar to win it all commandingly because they synergized so well.

There's another golden opportunity in 2015, where the Spurs sorely missed a clear-cut franchise player come playoffs time. McGrady would've already whisked those keys, whereas Kawhi left them dangling for too long. The Spurs likely would've ended up with more advantageous playoffs-seeding, and who would they have to contend with? A beatably inexperienced Warriors team, a Clippers team they lost to down the wire in Game 7 with Kawhi (who was too passive), the Houston "regular-season paper tigers" Rockets, and the injury-ravaged Cavaliers.

2016 was winnable, but I wouldn't wage on it. They'd probably beat the Thunder (who the Spurs narrowly lost to); but they'd need career-defining series from McGrady to beat the Warriors and Cavaliers, and it's hard to grant him that benefit of the doubt given his postseason track record.

2017 is moot for obvious reasons, as is 2018; however, the latter year would've been more interesting in the same first-round match-up, since I doubt we'd see the same absenteeism from McGrady against the Curry-less Warriors.

I don't trust him to win against the Bucks and 76ers in Kawhi's stead, though, who tasked him to a playoffs run for the ages just to scrape through them. McGrady developed more meteorically as a player, but he never achieved The Klaw's peak.

Much of this could hinge on how well he'd assimilate into the Spurs and Raptors, too. Their systems are predicated on intricate off-ball movement, which is incompatible with the playstyle I watched during his Houston years. Maybe he'd have a different player profile if he played under a Popovich-esque coach during his formative years, but it's always a fair question for ball-dominators like him.

I wouldn't trust McGrady to win more beyond that because his back spasms started flaring up by that age, though I doubt Kawhi has 2-3 more elite years left himself because of his own chronic ailment.

[Phoenix]

Nah, well not as the guy we saw in Orlando or first few seasons in Houston anyway. I don't think the Spurs in 2013 or 2014 are much better or worse with Tmac. He wouldnt be Kawhi defensively but people forget that Tmac was actually a defender before becoming that scoring machine in Orlando. So maybe the Spurs still win in 2014. He'd have been a different player coming up in that system under Pop. But the Warriors are still lurking out there and even plopping an equivalent to 2003 Tmac on the 2017 Spurs, that's not getting past the Warriors.

[houston]

ehhh I dunno I just know Kawhi have a better work ethic and attitude in general than T-mac.

[Gougou]

None... Spurs will lose to Lebron and Raptors probably lose to the 76ers, Kawhi defense and clutchness is better than T-Mac.

T-Mac failed 1st round of playoffs 3 times.

[Overdrive]

How can people hate on Tmacs playoff failures? Look at his rosters when he wasn't injured. I'm pretty sure he would've done great in Pop's system.

[LAL]

Replace Tmac with lebron on the heatles, atleast 2?

[Axe]

Replace Tmac with lebron on the heatles, atleast 2?
Lol

[Drygon]

T-Mac wouldn't be capable of guarding LeBron or other superstars as good as 2014 version of Kawhi

Never mind that 2014 version of Kawhi wouldn't force his way out to get more money + playing with other All-Stars in their primes.

[Smook A.]

None... Spurs will lose to Lebron and Raptors probably lose to the 76ers, Kawhi defense and clutchness is better than T-Mac.

T-Mac failed 1st round of playoffs 3 times.

T-Mac lost in the first round 8 times. The only time he got out of the 1st round was when he was a bench warmer for the Spurs in 2013. I'm not gonna count that